Sick Day

After a few days of being sick and forcing myself to go to work, I finally decided to take a sick day today.  It has definitely been worth it.  Having a week day to spend with Bethany and Wyatt while I rest and recuperate is a rarity.  On days like this, I'm also reminded what I miss when I usually leave the house around 5:10am to get to work.

I miss getting to see Wyatt wake up around 7:30am with an excited look on his face, which just so happens to be slightly eclipsed due to the pacifier in his mouth.  Maybe he knew this was an unusual and special occasion?  As B and I stood next to his crib, he immediately reached up for me and once he was safely tucked in my arms, he kicked his legs excitedly.  He was wearing his Toponas, Colorado onesy (how do you spell that?) that his Uncle Dave and Aunt Lara gave him.  Since it is finally getting warmer, and our air conditioning is out, he gets to jettison his footy pj's in favor of some attire that lets him show off his legs.

The highlight of the day was captured in a 3 minute 46 second video that I taped detailing the life and movement of our little ball of energy.  Shortly after I pushed the record button, he walked over to the ottoman, turned and looked over his left shoulder to the tv where his Praise Baby DVD was playing, then raised his left hand out toward the screen.  With too many places to explore, he didn't stay still in the moment.  He pulled himself onto the ottoman, temporarily got onto all fours and displayed a scowl before crawling onto the love seat, where he reclined for a second against the cushion before performing his favorite move as of late; the head bob quickly followed by the requisite 2 count head butt to the arm of the chair.

After performing a "downward dog" pose for a couple seconds - just because he could - he crawled forward, knelt down and stared intensely at the tv.  Maintaining eye contact with the tv, he slowly backed off of the ottoman before walking in circles and picking up his rattle.  After a few well-timed shakes (future drummer?) he performed a couple booty bumps, then shook his shoulders as he walked to front of the tv.  Movement apparently wasn't enough; he had something to say, so he grunted a few times at the giraffe on the screen.

After a few more waves at the screen and several shakes of the rattle, he walked over to me.  He wanted to sit with me...pure heaven!  I sat him on my knee and filmed as he continued to stare at the screen intently.  "Better is one day in your courts, better is one in your house, better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere" was the refrain of the worship song on the DVD.  At one point, he took his pacifier out, made a few noises, shook his rattle (I think it is officially a maraca? You know that musical shakey thing), before popping his pacifier back in his mouth.

Why would I go to all this trouble to narrate this few minutes of life?  Life moves fast and I often miss what is occurring in the moment.  I was very aware during the minute that he sat on my lap that for that time he might be singing "better is one minute on my Daddy's lap than thousands elsewhere."  For me, I could say "better is one sick day with my family than thousands elsewhere."  I'd rather feel weak and tired in the presence of my family while we listen to songs about the goodness of God than be healthy and elsewhere.  It was needed today.  Moments after taping the video, I received news that our air conditioner needed to be replaced. It costs money that we don't have, but as I shared the news with B, we hugged each other, shed a few tears...all while "How Great Is Our God" played in the background.  Sad, ironic, tender and sweet.  This was quite a sick day and even with bad news, it was a GREAT sick day.